Bible Study

After Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him to Shiloh in fulfillment of her vow, and "dedicated" him (actually, she uses the same word as when she "asked" the Lord for the boy, so she “loans” him back in a reversal of the asking) to the Lord as a servant of Eli. She then offers her prayer, which is the model of Mary's magnificat (see Luke 1:46ff).

Hannah's prayer fits the narrative because it introduces the reversal of fortune of Eli's house and Samuel. Eli's sons are “scoundrels” (v. 12), taking advantage of their position to extort from worshippers the best meat of the offerings and having sex with the women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting (see Exodus 38:8). Eli rebukes his sons but they ignore him and he takes no action.

The chapter concludes with the visit of "A man of God" - a prophet - who rebukes Eli in God's name, threatening:

1 Samuel 2:31 See, a time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor's family, so that no one in your family will live to old age.

Then he makes a promise, parallel to the promise with which Hannah had concluded her prayer dedicating Samuel:

1 Samuel 2:35 I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one forever.

Hannah had prayed: 1 Samuel 2:10 The LORD will ... give strength to his king, and exalt the power of his anointed."

Because there were no kings in Hannah’s time, some commentators says that this is evidence that the prayer is not Hannah's, but was put in her mouth from a later time. That is the bogus reasoning that gives critical scholarship a bad odor in my nostrils. Samuel was the very one whom God was going to use to anoint the first kings of Israel.

This is how the economy of heaven works. This strong (I say jokingly, Quaker!) woman, who prays silently in the Spirit, prays out of an interior communion with God and, therefore, according to the will of God. There is an interplay between life on earth and life in heaven, between the praying one and the One prayed to. Hannah prays for a son; she is vindicated. She "loans" the son back to God as the servant of the priest at the Temple in Shiloh. She prays that God will give strength to his king; there is no king, but there is a priest at Shiloh, and his family is acting unjustly. The man of God (a prophet) appears, and announces that the unjust priest will be replaced by a new priest who will "go in and out before my anointed one forever."

In the economy of heaven, unlikely things become likely. As Hannah said in her prayer, God can and does reverse the fortunes of the great and small:

1 Samuel 2:4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
..................
9 "He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness;
for not by might does one prevail.

It is not by the external evidences of power, but by the silent prayers of women that the fate of nations are decided.

In the same line of narratives the center on strong women that has run from Samson's mother in Judges through Ruth, we open 1st Samuel with the story of Hannah. Hannah stands in the line of Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, the line of barren women who are blessed by God with children who become leaders in Israel. Hannah's story includes, in the second chapter, the model for Mary's magnificat. For a patriarchy, the role of women in the story of salvation is quite astonishing.

Background: Hannah was the second wife of Elkanah, and she was barren, whereas Peninnah, the other wife, had children. Neverthless, Elkanah loved Hannah (despite her disgrace) and when they would go up to the annual festival in Shiloh, he showed his favor by given Hannah a double portion. Provoked, Peninnah, in jealousy, would taunt Hannah for her barreness.

NIV 1 Samuel 1:10 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD.

The essence of her prayer was a promise that, if God would give her a male child, she would "dedicate him to the Lord for all the days of his life," as a naziite. (v. 11. TNK) This vow was honored, and by the end of the chapter, "the Lord remembered her" (v. 20) and she conceived. Rather than going to the festival that year, she stayed at home with Samuel, keeping him until he was weaned, "'for,'" she said, "'when he has appeared before the LORD, he must remain there for good.'" (v. 22, TNK)

What stands out in all this is the tragic-comic exchange the occurs between Hannah and the priest Eli, when he observed her praying her vow at Shiloh.

NRS 1 Samuel 1:12 As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

14 So Eli said to her, "How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine."

15 But Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time."

17 Then Eli answered, "Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him."

Hannah, of course, is the first Quaker in the Bible! As befits a Quaker, she prays silently, with passion, and is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit when she speaks. Hannah's prayer is prototypical of New Testament references to spirit-led prayer.

1) Her prayer "continued" (1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing)

2) She was praying beyond words (Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.)

3) Observers thought she was drunk (Acts 2:13 On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit gave miraculous speech, "others sneered and said, 'They are filled with new wine.'")

5) She was bold in offering her defense (Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "... 15... these are not drunk, as you suppose, ... 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel.” ) If it was bold of Peter, a Galilean peasant to stand up the crowd in Jerusalem, how much more bold for a woman from the hill country of Ephraim, to stand up to Eli the priest of the temple at Shiloh.

Such is the work of the Holy Spirit. It evoked a change of heart from Eli, who no longer treated her as a worthless drunk, but prayed the blessing of shalom over her. Hannah's simplicity of heart before God has "answered that of God" in Eli. The result is the blessing of peace.

Boaz gets right on the job and goes to the city gate where he finds the nearer next-of-kin to Naomi and proceeds to talk with him about redeeming

Ruth 4:3 the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech.

This un-named next-of-kin is all for it until Boaz tells him that he will get Ruth in the bargain. At this, next-of-kin demurs:

Ruth 4:6 "I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance."

It is unclear what is at stake, but my guess is that he is concerned that any offspring he and Ruth might have would displace the rights of his own first-born. So, now the field is clear for Boaz. To symbolize this, there is the fascinating handing over of the sandal:

Ruth 4:7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the next-of-kin said to Boaz, "Acquire it for yourself," he took off his sandal.

The sandal, apparently symbolized the land over which one would walk to claim ownership.

The leverite law in Dt 25:7 also features sandals, and this is no doubt in the background of this story as well, because Ruth is being treated as a widow rejected by her husband's next-of-kin.

Deuteronomy 25:(7) But if the man has no desire to marry his brother's widow, then his brother's widow shall go up to the elders at the gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me." (8) Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, "I have no desire to marry her," (9) then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal off his foot, spit in his face, and declare, "This is what is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house." (10) Throughout Israel his family shall be known as "the house of him whose sandal was pulled off."

As fascinating as all this is, it is not the point of the story. The real point of the story comes in the final climactic verses which demonstrate the lineage which extends from the patriarch Judah through Ruth to the future King David.

The witnesses to Boaz’s transaction at the gate pray for him and Ruth:

Ruth 4:11 May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; 12 and, through the children that the LORD will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."

The story of Tamar has been hovering in the wings of Ruth's narrative as well, for it was Tamar who was famously spurned by Onan (who spilled his seed on the ground) rather than fulfill his leverite duty. In the context of the story of Ruth, whose brazen "uncovering of the feet" of the sleeping Boaz in the previous chapter evoked from him such a quick decision to extend the rights of redemption way beyond the requirements of the law, this mention of Tamar and geneology provokes one to reflect on the amazing sexual history of the line of David:

Abraham with Sarah (who was too old to bear children [see Genesis 17:17]) had
Isaac who, with Rebekah, had
Jacob who, with Leah, had
Judah who, with Tamar (his daughter-in-law who tricked him into impregnating her by pretending to be a prostitute [see Genesis 38:11ff]) had
Perez, who had
Hezron, who had
Ram, who had
Amminadab, who had
Nahshon, who had
Salmon, who with Rahab (the prostitute at Jericho who cast her lot with YHWH [see Matthew 1:5; Joshua 2:1ff], had
Boaz, who with Ruth (the Moabite widow of Mahlon), had
Obed, who had
Jesse, who had
David, who with Bathseeba, (the wife of Uriah who David had killed [2 Samuel 11:1ff and 12:24), had
Solomon, who (had seven hundred princesses among his wives and three hundred concubiness, [see 1 Kings 11:3] and) was the ancestor of
....
Joseph who with Mary (who was impregnated by the Holy Spirit before they were married) had
Jesus, who is the Light to the Gentiles.

I am a conservative when it comes to marriage and sexual ethics, but it seems to me that this geneology demonstrates that God's grace overwhelms all thoughts of ethnic purity or sexual holiness. So, in the end, perhaps the disgrace of the sandal is the point of the story, for Ruth, like so many of these other women, is the true heroine who endures shame to find herself the instrument of God's redemption. Here is a fine counterpoint to the stories of the warrior judges and kings, who in the end failed so miserably to redeem Israel.

In the last chapter, Ruth took refuge in the law which protects strangers and widows and orphans from economic destitution. In this chapter, Ruth relies on the law of leverite marriage:

Deuteronomy 15:5 When brothers reside together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage, and performing the duty of a husband's brother to her, 6 and the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name of the deceased brother, so that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.

At Naomi's urging, Ruth waited until Boaz had eaten and drunk and fallen asleep in the threshing room, and

Ruth 3:7 then she came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down

It is unclear what is meant by "uncovered his feet" but it is clearly riske. A comic exchange follows:

Ruth 3:8 At midnight the man was startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman!

9 He said, "Who are you?"

And she answered, "I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin."

Here is the verse in which Ruth invokes Boaz's prayer that she might find refuge under God's "wings." In response, for a second time, Boaz goes beyond the law. Boaz was not Ruth's husband's brother. He was not even the nearest kin. He was not under obligation. Boaz points out to Ruth that there are closer relations than he (even though they were under no obligation according to a literal reading of the law). Nevertheless, he promises to do as she asks. For a second time, Boaz prays a blessing over Ruth:

Ruth 3:10 He said, "May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich."

So she "lay at his feet" until morning, but before light, they got up and Boaz gave her a prodigious amount of barley to carry back as a gift to Naomi. Ruth has acted with great boldness; Boaz with charming greatness of heart. The famine has turned to bounty.

Please note: I'm having some difficulty with my Internet connection, so my postings may be a bit erratic until I can get this fixed. Ben

Ruth is about blessing. The blessing simultaneously extends beyond the people of the promise (Ruth is a Moabite) and enriches them (she carries forward the lineage of the future king David – Chapter 4). The blessing results from:

(1) the free choice by Ruth - Chapter 1 - to follow the God of Israel;
(2) the prayer by Boaz - Chapter 2 - that God's blessings would flow; and,
(3) the liberal interpretation of and obedience to the Deuteronistic law by the whole community – a theme that carries through Chapters 2 and 3.

The law of economic well-being depends on the community making a place for the marginalized:

NRS Deuteronomy 24:19 When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings.

It was upon this law that Ruth relied:

Ruth 2:2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor." She said to her, "Go, my daughter." 3 So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers.

"As it happened," : (Ruth 2:3) Ruth was gleaning in the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi's, when he was passing by. God’s hand is never claimed, but we are invited to see God behind the happenstance. After inquiring who she was, Boaz instructs her to glean his fields safely behind his womenfolk. Ruth is amazed at his kindness, and asks him the reason for it

Ruth 2:11 But Boaz answered her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.

Then Boaz utters the prayer of blessing that forms the turning point in the story.

Ruth 2:12 May the LORD reward (shalëm) you for your deeds, and may you have a full (shülema) reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!

The blessing of God is shalom: the fullness of well-being that encompasses both peace and financial security.

There are two cognates of shalom in Boaz' prayer for Ruth. The prayer begins with the word, shalem, which means reward/repayment/fulfillment. In Jeremiah (51:56) uses the word as an attribute of God "for the LORD is a God of recompense, he will repay in full." The second cognate in shulema, also carries the sense of fullness; it is the movement from famine to abundance that Ruth is all about.

So, Boaz prays for Ruth to know God's fullness. In the second part of the prayer, he uses the metaphor of God's wings (kenaph) of refuge. (Recall the beautiful passage in Exodus 19:4 in which God says, "I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself."

Kenaph has two meanings: "wings" and, by the association of "wing" with corner or edge, a piece of cloth:

Numbers 15:38, "make fringes on the corners of their garments..."

To anticipate Chapter 3, there Ruth asks Boaz to cover her with his kenaph and Boaz fulfills his own prayer that Ruth may enjoy a place of refuge.

The blessing of God comes as shalom, and the instrument and fulfillment of it is the economic righteous expressed by the community of God's people.

A final note about gleaning: Ruth relied upon law, but Boaz soon exceeds the demands of the law and tells Ruth to glean among the standing grain. The story is Gospel: grace upon grace. "I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly."